As the name states, Locked in Elite comes into TBT focused on the million-dollar prize.
A deep squad with 13 players on the roster, Locked in Elite has a few returners from last year’s TBT, but enters mostly new to this. They might be the biggest team in the tournament, with seven players over 6’9, including two seven-footers. If they can use that to their advantage, don’t be surprised if this four seed comes out on top in the Indianapolis regional.
For more TBT team profiles, click here.
Current Roster:
- Donovan Jackson (Iowa State)
- George Andre-Washington (East Carolina)
- Hallice Cooke (Oregon State, Iowa State, Nevada)
- Hunter Bode (Northwestern Ohio)
- Kairo Cannon (Stilman College)
- Ladarius Marshall (Alcorn State)
- Malik Anderson (Southern Cal, Lee College)
- Rozelle Nix (Pittsburgh)
- Simas Jarumbauskas
- Steven Davis (Wright State)
- Torren Jones (William Penn)
- Tyonte Robertson (Panola)
- Vance Jackson (UConn, New Mexico, Arkansas, East Carolina)
Coaching Staff:
- Adam Goetz (Asst. Coach)
- Andre Yates (Head Coach)
- Charles Williams (Head Coach)
- Kelvin Dixon (Asst. Coach)
- Tyonte Robertson (GM)
Region: Indianapolis
All-time Record: 0-0
First Matchup: vs. Fort Wayne Champs (July 20 at 9 p.m. EST)
Team MVP: Vance Jackson
Jackson is one of the few players on Locked in Elite who suited up in last year’s TBT, playing for Challenge ALS. He had moderate success, averaging 11 PPG in the three matches. This was deflated significantly by his second game, where he failed to score. In the regional final, he scored 18 points to lead his team in scoring.
At 6’9, he has great size for someone who can stretch the floor. He made five threes in his first TBT game last year, but also made all his shots from inside the arc in that regional final game. They’ll look for him to be the offensive workhorse, especially in that first game. If he can be that, and be efficient at it, then good things will happen for Locked in Elite.
Make-or-break Player: Tyonte Robertson
Robertson started for Team Aboutbillions last year, who pulled off the big upset over Nasty Nati in Round One as the eight seed. While he isn’t a dominant scorer, he does the other things really well. In that win, he grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists. In the following game, however, he strayed away from that and tried to be the hero, and that resulted in a 1-12 shooting performance and an ugly loss for his team.
If he can embrace not being the scoring workhorse and instead do the little things that may or may not show up on the box score, then this team can be set up for success. It’s a tough ask for any basketball player to resist getting shots up, but it’s the best path for success for his team.
Team Outlook
Locked in Elite will face Fort Wayne Champs in Round One in what is actually the final round one game of the tournament. Hopefully, that means more viewership as fans look to get one final taste of the chaos this tournament brings. Run DFW lost by just two points in the 4-5 seed matchup last year, and are out for revenge. If Locked in Elite were to win, they’d most likely face Carmen’s Crew, last year’s national champions. It’s not ideal, but anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament.
As mentioned earlier, this team is big. George-Andre Washington stands at 7-2, and Rozelle Nix is listed at 7’0. Don’t be surprised if we see four players listed above 6’8 on the court at the same time for this team. Will they be able to use that to their advantage? We’ll see. Being locked in is going to be important for them, so hopefully, they can embrace their name and do just that.
[…] Wayne Champs look to get things back on track in the final game of the first round, facing Locked in Elite. Fort Wayne Champs suffered the loss as a five seed last year, so hopefully they can turn their […]